Guide to Choosing Timber Floors

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timber flooring

Timber flooring offers unique character and warmness to your flooring, which is why most people prefer it to other options. Three are numerous options for timber flooring that you can choose to fit all your personal needs and preferences. A few of the considerations you should make while choosing timber floors are highlighted below.

Type of Timber

Various types of timber can be used for flooring, each coming with pros and cons. However, a majority of people generally prefer the hardwood options despite them being a lot more expensive. The particular type of hardwood you choose boils down to personal preferences and costs.

Solid or Engineered

Traditionally, timber flooring used to involve thick planks of timber laid on the floor. Nowadays, there are those planks that have only a thin top layer of wood. The rest of the plank is made out of materials that help prevent the shifting effects of expansion and contraction. The engineered flooring is a better option, especially when the subfloor is made of concrete. However, determining its quality is a lot more complicated.

Prefinished or Site Finished

With prefinished timber flooring, the planks undergo the finishing process only after installation. Site finished ones come with the topcoat and stain already applied. The prefinished option comes with the benefit of knowing exactly how the final look will be. That can help you coordinate your home color palette when choosing wall coverings, textiles, cabinetry, etc. even before the flooring process is completed. Prefinished flooring also takes a shorter time to complete. On the other hand, on-site finishing allows for a lot more customization.timber floor

Type of Finish

The main options that you have for the type of finish are oils and polyurethanes. When the oil is used, it penetrates deep into the wood. That gives the wood a feel and look of being very soft, natural, and matte. However, it does not make the wood impervious to stains the way polyurethanes do. Polyurethane creates a hard coating on the wood surface, which is more resilient to wear and tear.

Grain Pattern

Logs generally are cut in one of three different ways, quarter-sawn, rift-sawn, and plain-sawn, all of which result in different grain patterns. There are no particular benefits regarding the grain pattern, other than the aesthetical properties. That means that the choice essentially boils down to your personal preferences.